MUI building global urban research links

24 October 2017

Kevin Ward has visited two Universities in Canada as part of the Manchester Urban Institute's ongoing work to strengthen existing links and forge new relationships with groups of urban researchers around the world.

Between 2016 and 2019, Kevin Ward is a Visiting Professor at The City Institute at York University, Toronto, which is directed by Professor Linda Peake and whose membership include a number of those with whom we have links, including Professors Roger Keil and Ute Lehrer.

This position involves three two-week visits for Kevin and the first of these took place in the middle of October. The focus of the award is for Kevin to build and enhance relations between the urban research done at Manchester and at York, as well as between York and its near neighbours, Ryerson University, the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo.

During his visit to York, Kevin gave two academic seminars (including one at the University of Waterloo) and four graduate seminars, spoke with PhD students, had meetings with four early career researchers, and gave a short presentation as part of the final conference of the MCRI Global Suburbanisms research project. His visit also began the process of setting-up a network of university-based urban groupings, that will reflect where the Manchester Urban Institute has multiple, well-established relationships.

Over the last few months, in addition to conversations with York University, Kevin has also spoken with representatives from Malmo University and the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR). In each case, those at these universities wanted to know about the organization of, and work done by, the Manchester Urban Institute. More and more universities are re-thinking how they organize their research in relation to the sorts of issues that transcend traditional disciplines and thus academic departments. "The urban" is just such an issue and it bodes well for the future of the MUI that it is something from which others are keen to learn.